Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, sending huge plume of ash skywardAfter two weeks of volcanic activity, an explosive eruption at Hawaiiâs Mount Kilauea sent a plume of ash thousands of metres into the air before raining down on a nearby town.

At least 26 homes and 10 other structures had been destroyed in lead-up to today's eruption

A live panorama image of HalemaÊ»umaÊ»u Overlook from HVO Observation Tower on Hawaii's Big Island taken at 6:15 a.m. local time. (United States Geological Survey )

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted from its summit before dawn Thursday, shooting a dusty plume of ash about 9,000 metres into the sky.

The explosion came after two weeks of volcanic activity and the opening of more than a dozen fissures east of the crater that spewed lava into neighbourhoods, said Mike Poland, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Hawaii County officials say the volcano on the Big Island exploded at 4:17 a.m. local time.

Residents who live in a nearby town reported light amounts of ash falling following the eruption.

Kilauea sends plume of ash and debris nearly 9,000 metres up 0:49

Poland said the explosion likely only lasted a few minutes and that ash accumulations were minimal, with likely trace amounts near the volcano and in the town, which is named Volcano.

The lava that has emerged over the last two weeks has destroyed at least 26 homes and 10 other structures.

The crater is within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been closed since May 11 in preparation for an eruption.

Decades of eruptions

Officials have said they didn't expect the explosion to be deadly as long as people remained out of the closed national park.

Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes. An eruption in 1924 killed one person, and sent rocks, ash and dust into the air for 17 days.

Hide captionToggle Fullscreen1 of 0

Scientists warned on May 9 that a drop in the lava lake at the summit might create conditions for an explosion that could fling ash and boulders the size of refrigerators into the air.

Scientists predicted it would mostly release trapped steam from flash-heated groundwater released as though it was a kitchen pressure cooker.